Duo Concertant

At the home of one of Pennsylvania's best collegiate music schools resides an outstanding chamber ensemble - Duo Concertant. This simple combination of piano and violin has traveled throughout the United States and Asia, performing at many prestigous venues including Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall.

The Musicians

James Pember Lyon resides in State College, Pennsylvania. Since his appointment in 1991, he has been teaching studio violin at the Penn State University. Professor Lyon has appeared as soloist with the Spoleto Festival Orchestra, the Dallas Ballet, and the Amarillo, Genesee, Hershey, Nittany Valley, and Altoona symphonies. He has been a member of the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, the Louisville Orchestra, the Harrington Quartet, and the Kentucky Center Chamber Players. Lyon has appeared on CBS television and Radio-televisione Italia as well as radio broadcasts from New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. He is a graduate of West Texas State University, the North Carolina School of the Arts, and the Eastman School of Music. He also has served on the faculties of the Eastern Music Festival, West Texas State University, and Indiana University Southeast, as well as summer appointments at The Quartet Program at Bucknell University and the University of Siena. His teachers/coaches have included Charles Castleman, Elaine Richey, and members of the Tokyo, Cleveland, and Fine Arts Quartets.

Timothy Paul Shafer also resides in State College, teaching studio piano at Penn State. In 1997 he was named Teacher of the Year by the Pennsylvania Music Teacher's Association. He was awarded the bachelor of music degree in piano performance from the Oberlin Conservatory, where he won several performing awards, including the Rudolf Serkin Outstanding Pianist Award. He received masters and doctoral degrees in piano performance from Indiana University, where he was the winner of the annual concerto competition. He is an active performer, clinician, and adjudicator throughout the country for professional music organizations and colleges, and is a frequent soloist with many regional orchestras. Shafer is the co-author of Class Piano for Adult Beginners, published by Prentice-Hall.

Recording

Recorded in 1995, Out standing in Our Field, is the title of Duo Concertant's compact disc recording featuring works by Stravinsky, Debussy, and Strauss. Their performances and recordings have been hailed by The New York Concert Review and Strings Magazine. The track listings are as follows:

"Shafer played the difficult piano part (of the Strauss Violin Sonata) with notable aplomb and dexterity. The Debussy . . . was . . . elegantly recreated. It was an intelligent and well-played performance. The Stravinsky, in an alert, often humorous reading, showed both players well in command of their instruments and to have, furthermore, a goodly command of the stylistic vocabulary of this confection. The rhythms were bracing, the balances adroitly gauged, and there was more than a modicum of the grit and acerbity that this tongue-in-cheek material calls for. I look forward to more music-making from these serious . . . instrumentalists."

Harris Goldsmith, New York Concert Review

"Their ensemble and balance were excellent. The Strauss had sweep and ardor and sounded beautiful."

Edith Eisler, Strings Magazine

Booking

If you would like to have Duo Concertant play for you, please contact: